Forrest Hicks has been the target of the St. Joseph Christian offense this whole season. On Friday night, the Lions guards found the 6-foot-7 senior plenty of times in the post against Mid-Buchanan.

Behind Hicks, the Lions defeated Mid-Buchanan 60-44 at Christian High School, avenging an earlier season loss to the Dragons. The big man accounted for 30 points.

“Our guards, the last few games, have played really well,” Hicks said. “David Beard as well as other guards have been good at getting it into the post. We’ve been working on that in practice, too.”

Mid-Buchanan (14-7) jumped out in the second half on a 10-2 run. The Dragons took their first lead with 6 minutes, 15 seconds to play in the third quarter when guard Cooper Roberts recovered a steal and put in a contested layup. After Christian coach Scott Jenkins called a timeout, Hicks became the focus again.

The center, who scored 11 points in the first half, began to rule the paint.

Hicks countered the Dragons’ fast attack with solid rebounding and post scoring. He scored two straight baskets to give Christian the lead back at 29-26.

After Hicks’ two buckets, Mid-Buchanan fouled him on Christian’s next three possessions, which led five free throw points. Hicks scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to secure the victory for the Lions, giving him half of his teams points.

“The way we played in our post,” Christian coach Scott Jenkins said, “I think Forrest did a great job. We executed the middle like we wanted to.”

Jeremy Lance scored 20 points to lead Mid-Buchanan. The senior pulled his team back early in the fourth quarter when he grabbed his second steal of the half and took it to the rim for two points, which put Mid-Buchanan back within 39-33.

However, the Dragons fouled the Lions a lot late, and Christian made 9-of-13 free throws in the final 8 minutes — as the Dragons fans erupted in exasperation.

Christian started the game in man-to-man defense, trying to disrupt the Dragons’ frequent outside shooting. By doing that, Mid-Buchanan missed its first four shots.

Colton Hoffman dropped down a trey to end the 4-minute drought, and Mid-Buchanan trailed only 6-3 despite the early struggles.

The Lions (16-4) continued their tough defense and went into the halftime with a 23-16 lead. The game became rowdy between both teams in the spirited second half, culminating in each coach taking out two players that were tangled up after a foul on a three-point play in the fourth quarter.

Jenkins told his players that sat the bench that their character meant more than the win.

“I’m not saying it’s easy. This is a learning tool for us, but we can’t be doing that,” Jenkins said.

Mid-Buchanan girls 29, Christian 18

The Dragons couldn’t find the bucket in the first five minutes, but defense kept Christian from taking advantage.

Mid-Buchanan (13-9) used post-player Khadesha Rowland on offense and countered with Erica Phillips’ defensive play to defeat the Lions. Rowland scored 11 points in the defensive-minded game, while Christian underwent a long first-half dry spell in the loss.

“I was pleased with our defense all night,” Mid-Buchanan coach Ron Underwood said. “I knew that Christian is quicker than we were. I knew we just needed to not give them a lot of chances to drive and make them try to beat us from the outside. I thought our defense was as good as it’s been.”

Christian’s speed continued to be hurt with the absence of star Alexa Taff. The senior guard has now missed the past four games with a thigh injury, resulting in three losses.

Without Taff, Christian’s guards struggled to move the ball against the Dragons defense.

Emylee King and Courtlin Osborn combined for only eight points, three days after both were major factors on offense in a loss to Nodaway-Holt. Christian’s Danielle Beard started the game’s with a two-point bucket followed by King’s jumper. After that,

Christian (14-6) didn’t score until the 6:17 mark of the second half.

During that spell, Mid-Buchanan put together a 13-point run, which included a 12-4 halftime lead.

As soon as the Lions mustered up some points, Rowland dropped seven of her 11 points in the third frame to keep the Dragons at a distance. Phillips had eight rebounds and two points.

Thomas Huitt-Johnson can be reached at thomas.hj@newspressnow.com Follow him on Twitter: @SJNPSports